UCCS move-in day to welcome record freshman class to new university housing

Editor’s Note: Reporters and photographers are welcome to observe move in at 10 a.m. Aug. 20.

Copper and Eldora houses are the newest additions to UCCS student housing

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – More than 1,200 students are expected to move in at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Aug. 20-23 as UCCS prepares for its largest-ever freshman class and overall campus enrollment.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Aug. 20, first-year and returning housing students will begin moving into Summit and Timberline Villages. Summit Village is the first-year student residence hall complex on the main UCCS campus. Timberline Village consists of two buildings of a North Nevada Ave. apartment complex leased by the university as student residences.

Students who live in Alpine Village, an apartment-style complex for upper-level students, will move in on Aug. 23.

More than 1,000 new students and their families are expected to arrive on Aug. 20 with many arriving between 9 a.m. and noon. University leaders, including Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak, will greet students and families and offer assistance. A variety of student services and activities will also be demonstrated in the Summit Village complex.

Most new UCCS students participate in campus-based activities that begin the evening of Aug. 20. A convocation ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 21 and students participate in Freshman Seminar, courses designed to introduce new students to Colorado Springs and to the expectations of the university. Classes for all UCCS students begin Aug. 26.

New to Summit Village are Copper and Eldora houses, home to 192 new UCCS students. Copper and Eldora were completed Aug. 5 and this year’s freshmen will be the first to live in the $18.1 million project. Copper and Eldora houses boast one, two, three and four-person rooms arranged in suite-style configurations. The new rooms are furnished and offer high speed Internet connections as well as features not found in other campus buildings.

“These are our first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) gold residence halls,” Susan Szpyrka, vice chancellor, Administration and Finance said. “They are constructed to be energy efficient, comfortable, and in tune with the natural beauty of this campus.”

Szpyrka pointed out features such as landscaping as an example of forward-thinking design. Called a rain garden, plants selected will eventually be able to flourish in the region’s semi-arid climate without irrigation. An above-ground irrigation system will remain in place only until plants are established.

The buildings also feature an outdoor gathering space as well as lighted and visible staircases.

“In most buildings, the staircases are hidden at the back,” Szpyrka said. “That’s not true in Copper and Eldora. The staircases are beautiful and visible. We want people to take the stairs – and not the elevator – as part of living a healthy Colorado lifestyle.”

And while some students will get to live in new buildings, all UCCS housing students will return to more comfortable beds. Every mattress is new and are double-sided – one soft and one firm – to accommodate student preferences.

UCCS began on-campus housing in 1996 with initial houses in the Summit Village complex. Alpine Village was added in 2004. With the newest additions to Summit Village and Timberline Village, about 1,200 students or 12 percent of the UCCS student body live in university housing. Plans are underway to add space for 500 more students to live on campus.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The University offers 36 bachelor’s degrees, 19 master’s and five doctoral degrees. UCCS enrolls about 9,800 students on campus annually and another 2,000 in online programs. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu.